FAO COMMENDS GHANA

   The Food and Agricultural Organization, FAO, an agency of the United Nations, has commended Ghana for taking various steps to stop illegal logging that has for years, been a major cause of forest and forest resources depletion in many nations.

 According to the FAO, it is in line with the efforts to combat illegal logging that Ghana became the first timber-producing country to sign the Voluntary Partnership Agreement with the European Union, following which the country has implemented seven projects tailored at addressing the problem.

 The Deputy Regional Representative for Africa of the FAO, Dr. Lamourdia Thiombiano gave the commendation in an address read on his behalf in Kumasi, at a workshop on the implementation of the public procurement policy on timber and timber products in Ghana. According to the FAO official, illegal activities in the forest sector such as illegal logging and timber smuggling are some of the major problems in several West African nations including Ghana. 

These activities, Dr. Thiombiono noted, pose serious risk to the integrity of forest landscapes, global climate change and perpetuate negative economic impacts on global markets. He disclosed for instance, that the annual trade volumes of illegal logging amounted to 150 billion Euros, which in some cases, far exceeds legal logging. Additionally, illegal logging costs timber-producing nations such as Ghana between 10 and 15 billion Euros per annum, at the expense of better healthcare, formal education and other public services for the majority of the people. 

It is for this reason that Ghana’s efforts at curtailing the canker is highly commendable, to ensure that timber imports into the European and domestic markets are from legal sources.